Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are searching for a serial killer, and they’re taking 50 Cent with them. Sounds like a bad setup for an equally bad punchline, doesn’t it? It’s true, however. Rapper 50 Cent has joined the cast of the thriller Righteous Kill which stars De Niro and Pacino in their first major co-starring venture.
Although the former Godfather Part II stars both appeared in the famous Godfather sequel, they shared no screen time together, separated by flashbacks with De Niro in the past. Heat put them together for a second time, but they only shared a few brief scenes together, making Righteous Kill the first movie to actually feature them as co-stars, despite the fact that it’s been over twenty years since Part II. Producer Randall Emmett says the picture actually started from their friendship and desire to work together on screen.
Now, according to film guardian, 50 Cent has joined the duo. He’ll play a drug dealer who helps De Niro and Pacino’s detective characters. If the leading names weren’t such powerhouses, I might almost suggest that this is starting to sound like another adaptation of Starsky & Hutch, with a drug dealer instead of a pimp.
This isn’t the only big news for Righteous Kill today. Variety is reporting the film’s North American rights have been picked up by Overture Films, marking the fifth project unveiled by the Starz Media division. The company intends on releasing eight to twelve pictures annually, so this is a heck of a start. Also on their slate – a Dustin Hoffman/Emma Thompson romance picture, a Charlize Theron film, and Mad Money, the Diane Keaton ,Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes comedy that finished shooting last week.
